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15/12/2004
Government warns of hazardous fake cigarettes
Customs Minister John Healey has launched a campaign warning smokers tempted to buy cheap smuggled cigarettes that increasing numbers of hazardous fake cigarettes are being sold on streets, in pubs and in markets around the UK.
According to research published today, more than half the cigarettes currently being seized - more than a million each day - are counterfeit, and 85% of the cigarettes being sold in London are fakes.
Many of the counterfeit cigarettes are manufactured in underground factories overseas using contaminated tobacco leaves, substantially increasing the health risks associated with smoking, with much higher levels of tar, nicotine, carbon monoxide, lead, cadmium and arsenic than genuine brand-name cigarettes.
Mr Healey said: "Over the past four years, we've seized nine billion cigarettes and destroyed more than 250 organised smuggling gangs. If we hadn't taken this action, more than one in three of the cigarettes being smoked in the UK today would have been smuggled. Instead, the smuggled share of the cigarette market stands at just 15 per cent."
However, the Minister warned that as supply lines have been disrupted, international smuggling gangs unable to obtain genuine cigarettes are beginning to manufacture their own counterfeit versions of brand-name cigarettes.
"So if you are tempted to buy cheap smuggled cigarettes on the street or in the pub - what you're doing is not only funding organized crime, it can also be even more dangerous for your health than real cigarettes," he said.
The Minister warned that it was nearly impossible to tell from the packaging whether the cigarettes were fakes as the packets had both health warnings and a tax stamp.
Pledging to crack down on this illegal market and the organized criminals who were running it, the Minister appealed to the public to "turn their backs on the gangs who smuggle and sell these fake cigarettes".
Anyone with information should contact the confidential Customs hotline on 0800 59 5000.
An investigation of counterfeit cigarette samples in the UK has revealed "substantial" levels of hazardous contaminants, including carcinogenic heavy metals such as cadmium and arsenic.
(SP)
According to research published today, more than half the cigarettes currently being seized - more than a million each day - are counterfeit, and 85% of the cigarettes being sold in London are fakes.
Many of the counterfeit cigarettes are manufactured in underground factories overseas using contaminated tobacco leaves, substantially increasing the health risks associated with smoking, with much higher levels of tar, nicotine, carbon monoxide, lead, cadmium and arsenic than genuine brand-name cigarettes.
Mr Healey said: "Over the past four years, we've seized nine billion cigarettes and destroyed more than 250 organised smuggling gangs. If we hadn't taken this action, more than one in three of the cigarettes being smoked in the UK today would have been smuggled. Instead, the smuggled share of the cigarette market stands at just 15 per cent."
However, the Minister warned that as supply lines have been disrupted, international smuggling gangs unable to obtain genuine cigarettes are beginning to manufacture their own counterfeit versions of brand-name cigarettes.
"So if you are tempted to buy cheap smuggled cigarettes on the street or in the pub - what you're doing is not only funding organized crime, it can also be even more dangerous for your health than real cigarettes," he said.
The Minister warned that it was nearly impossible to tell from the packaging whether the cigarettes were fakes as the packets had both health warnings and a tax stamp.
Pledging to crack down on this illegal market and the organized criminals who were running it, the Minister appealed to the public to "turn their backs on the gangs who smuggle and sell these fake cigarettes".
Anyone with information should contact the confidential Customs hotline on 0800 59 5000.
An investigation of counterfeit cigarette samples in the UK has revealed "substantial" levels of hazardous contaminants, including carcinogenic heavy metals such as cadmium and arsenic.
(SP)
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28 February 2012
Smuggled Cigarettes Not Child's Play
A gang who described over 20 million smuggled cigarettes as baby’s toys on shipping documents have been jailed after a covert surveillance operation caught them red-handed.
Smuggled Cigarettes Not Child's Play
A gang who described over 20 million smuggled cigarettes as baby’s toys on shipping documents have been jailed after a covert surveillance operation caught them red-handed.
11 January 2013
Customs Officers Seize 500,000 Smuggled Cigarettes
Customs officers have discovered 500,000 allegedly smuggled cigarettes and hundreds of counterfeit watches intended for sale in the UK. The items, worth £100,000 in duty alone, were seized in Bridgend on Tuesday at a storage facility near the town centre. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) also found £6,000 cash in a vehicle.
Customs Officers Seize 500,000 Smuggled Cigarettes
Customs officers have discovered 500,000 allegedly smuggled cigarettes and hundreds of counterfeit watches intended for sale in the UK. The items, worth £100,000 in duty alone, were seized in Bridgend on Tuesday at a storage facility near the town centre. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) also found £6,000 cash in a vehicle.
21 January 2011
Cigarette Smuggling Ringleader Jailed
The ringleader of a criminal gang that smuggled over 64 million fake cigarettes into the UK, evading £10m in duty, was jailed for seven years at Southwark Crown Court. Peter Vyse, a Market Trader from Waltham Cross in Hertfordshire, was jailed along with nine other gang members for a total of over 30 years.
Cigarette Smuggling Ringleader Jailed
The ringleader of a criminal gang that smuggled over 64 million fake cigarettes into the UK, evading £10m in duty, was jailed for seven years at Southwark Crown Court. Peter Vyse, a Market Trader from Waltham Cross in Hertfordshire, was jailed along with nine other gang members for a total of over 30 years.
09 August 2004
Man arrested in Glasgow anti-smuggling swoop
A man has been arrested after Customs officers seized more than four million smuggled cigarettes from a lorry in Glasgow at the weekend. The 35-year-old man, who is from Paisley, was charged with evasion of excise duty and a report has been prepared for the Procurator Fiscal.
Man arrested in Glasgow anti-smuggling swoop
A man has been arrested after Customs officers seized more than four million smuggled cigarettes from a lorry in Glasgow at the weekend. The 35-year-old man, who is from Paisley, was charged with evasion of excise duty and a report has been prepared for the Procurator Fiscal.
18 November 2009
Fake Goods Seized In West Yorkshire
Three men have been arrested and counterfeit goods seized in Huddersfield as part of a joint operation between West Yorkshire Police and Revenue & Customs. The men, aged 19, 24, and 30, were detained on suspicion of producing and selling fake and imitation goods, and for immigration offences, after officers attended an address on Bradford Road.
Fake Goods Seized In West Yorkshire
Three men have been arrested and counterfeit goods seized in Huddersfield as part of a joint operation between West Yorkshire Police and Revenue & Customs. The men, aged 19, 24, and 30, were detained on suspicion of producing and selling fake and imitation goods, and for immigration offences, after officers attended an address on Bradford Road.
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